Matthew Polly profile picture

Matthew Polly

Those kids were fast as lightning.

About Me

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I am an awarding winning travel writer for Slate. My work has also appeared in Playboy, Esquire, and The Nation. My first book -- American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch -- was just published by Gotham/Penguin on February 1st, 2007. It is the story of the two years I spent studying kung fu and Zen Buddhism at the Shaolin Temple in China, the birthplace of both. Fox2000 is currently developing it into a feature film.
My website is: www.mattpolly.com

Advance praise for American Shaolin:
"I picked up American Shaolin and read it straight through. It is first rate. Polly's book tells more about what's going on in China and has more insights into the real China than anything in recent years. It is a wonderful true-life story with profound, behind-the-headlines observations about Chinese life. A tip of the Stetson to Matthew Polly."
--Dan Rather, legendary anchor of the CBS Evening News
"A sensibility more alien to my own than Matthew Polly's is hard to imagine. I consider foreign cultures to be really...foreign. I don't spiritually quest; I go to church. As for the martial arts, I own a gun. But I loved American Shaolin. Reading it was like being abducted by an alien--a brilliant, funny, and hospitable alien who took me to another universe of sensibility. There I enjoyed myself immensely."
--P.J. O'Rourke, author of Parliament of Whores
"A lot of people talk about becoming a real live ninja and don't do a thing. That's bullcrap. But this guy actually did it! In conclusion, Matthew Polly is the complete opposite of a wimpy baby."
--Robert Hamburger, author of REAL Ultimate Power: The Official Ninja Book.
To purchase the American version from Amazon.com click on the image below:
To purchase the British version from Amazon.uk click on the image below:
Here are links to some of my articles for Slate.
Return to the Shaolin Temple
Brown Revisited
Caipirinha Nights: An American in Rio
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My Interests

martial arts, China, kung fu, politics, travel,

I'd like to meet:

Readers who enjoy a fun story, booksellers and librarians, writers, martial arts fans, people interested in China and Buddhism.

Music:

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arctic Monkeys, Brent Roam, Eminem, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Linkin Park, Men at Work, Ruth Gerson

Movies:

Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, Shaolin Temple, Train Spotting, Gladiator, Batman Begins, Black Hawk Down, Lord of the Rings, Drunken Master

Television:

Deadwood, Kung Fu, The Wire, The Shield, Entourage, South Park, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Battlestar Galactica

Books:

Iron and Silk, River Town, Riding the Iron Rooster, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Holidays in Hell, AA Gill Is Away

Heroes:

Jet Li, David Carradine, Leonidas, John L. Sullivan

My Blog

Signed Copies

I wandered into a Barnes & Noble today and was delighted to find American Shaolin at the front of the store on the table for Father's Day Deals (20% off).It got me to thinking...Because so many of my ...
Posted by Matthew Polly on Thu, 31 May 2007 01:09:00 PST

Flying Kicks

Many people come up to me and ask what tips I have for them when they are doing a kung fu photoshoot in a suit in the middle of Times Square. Until Saturday I didn't know quite what to tell them excep...
Posted by Matthew Polly on Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:15:00 PST

Powell's or Bust

Most people in NY publishing consider Powell's in Portland to be one of the best, most innovative independent bookstores in the country. Frankly, I have to agree, because they wrote a wonderful review...
Posted by Matthew Polly on Sun, 25 Mar 2007 04:46:00 PST

More More

Steve Ersinghaus finds the conversation wonderful and the dialogue "planted" with irony. Thank you, Steve.
Posted by Matthew Polly on Sun, 25 Mar 2007 04:21:00 PST

Baby Steps

As I continue my baby steps into the wild world of writing for free, I continue to hold onto the crutch of making my posts about other blogs that have mentioned "American Shaolin." (Narcissism is a te...
Posted by Matthew Polly on Sun, 25 Mar 2007 04:04:00 PST

Blog Reviews

Part of my recent conversion to the joys of blogging has come from the warm reaction my book, American Shaolin (you knew I had a book, right?), has received. Below are links to two of them.Jeff Gabbar...
Posted by Matthew Polly on Sat, 17 Mar 2007 07:14:00 PST

Sorry, so sorry, sorry, sorry

It has been noted by several of my friends that I may in fact be the single worst blogger on the world wide web. Having allowed over two months between my first entry and now this my second, I am clea...
Posted by Matthew Polly on Sat, 17 Mar 2007 07:01:00 PST

ARE YOU UNBREAKABLE?

I may be the only person who watched the torture scene in Casino Royale and thought: "Too bad Bond didn't study iron crotch kungfu." Sure James manages to turn his screams of pain into bitter laugher ...
Posted by Matthew Polly on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 03:02:00 PST